The are 4 main points that the writer will have to in details respond to. It is important that the writer give
details responses to each of the mentioned questions below. The writer will use proper APA 6th edition
style to complete this paper and will avoid using pear review articles that are more than 5 years old.
It might be difficult in the business world today to find an organization with more than a few employees
that does not employ a project manager. Project management is simply the process that most
organizations choose to do business in a global marketplace. But according to Alexander Laufer (2012),
project management is not enough. Project leadership is essential to elevating your business above your
competitors when there are probably countless other organizations offering much the same products or
services as yours.
Laufer has proposed practices that can enable organizations to lead, rather than merely manage, in the
global marketplace. With these practices and your other Learning Resources in mind, explain your views
on the differences between management and leadership of projects.
Project Management or Project Leadership
PROJECT MANAGEMENT OR PROJECT LEADERSHIP
Explain how Laufer‘s nine leadership practices can be applied to portfolio
Management
Portfolio management entails coming up with the best investment plan in reference to
income, budget and the ability to undertake certain risks. Laufers’ nine leadership practices can
be applied to portfolio management when good leadership and flexibility are put into
consideration (Laufer, 2012).
Portfolio management requires the use of leadership abilities to ensure that investment
generates the desired results. This translates to putting into consideration standards, analyzing
best practices or processes and having the ability to solve problems using unique techniques. For
instance, the nine leadership practices encourage managers to challenge the status quo and
become more innovative so that they can achieve successful results.
Articulate which of Laufer’s nine practices are strategic and which are operational.
Explain your rationale for classification.
The strategic leadership practices include adopting a will to win, challenging the status
quo, foster flexible systems and behaviors, and taking measured risks. These practices are
strategic because they enable project managers to influence project outcomes in the early stages
and make sound judgments with incorporation of appropriate practices such as challenging the
PROJECT MANAGEMENT OR PROJECT LEADERSHIP
status quo, adopting the will to win and take risks (Gemunden, 2015). The practices also enable
managers to develop flexibility by combining selected redundancies with other more efficient
plans to get a balanced plan which is reliable and adaptable in future (Laufer, Hoffman, Russell
& Cameron, 2015).
Operational practices involve legitimizing judgment –based decision, creating and
maintaining a focus, involving the customer, developing teamwork and building trust. These
practices are more operational than strategic because they involve behaviors than actions.
Operational practices involve the process of influencing certain behaviors that will facilitate
good communication and coordination and also promote strong loyalty to the project.
Explain how the strategic practices can be used to move an organization into a market
leadership position
Strategic practices drive an organization to combine experiences, goals, expertise,
memories, perceptions, expectations, ideas, and thoughts to guide actions that would generate
positive outcomes (Kerzner, 2013). Strategic practices can be used in driving a company into a
market leadership position when the organization explores current and future trends. Kerzner
(2013) emphasizes that labor efficiency and loyalty towards management can be achieved if the
organization operates using strategic management practices. This includes having clear duties
and motivating employees to perform their takes without hesitation.
Organizations need to adopt broad-based policies to adapt to the changing business
environment. Strategic practice involves continuously observing and understanding
environmental variables and classifying them as either threats or opportunities (Todhunter,
2013). Understanding both opportunities and threats provides a better understanding of the
business environment. Strategic practices provide a clear understanding of the organization’s
PROJECT MANAGEMENT OR PROJECT LEADERSHIP
purpose, objective and performance standards among employees. This makes implementation to
run smoothly.
Discuss how Laufer’s nine principles of winning bear on the attribute necessary to
distinguish leadership from management.
Laufer’s nine principles of winning bear highlight some of the characteristics that
separate leadership from management. Some of the strategic functions like challenging the
status quo, adopting the will to win are set of elements needed to accomplish a goal as a
manager. According to Laufer et al., (2015), leadership practices involve getting people to
understand and believe in the vision. These leadership approaches can best be explained by
operational practices described by Laufer including maintaining focus, developing teamwork and
building trust.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT OR PROJECT LEADERSHIP
References
Gemünden, H. G. (2015). Success Factors of Global New Product Development Programs, the
Definition of Project Success, Knowledge Sharing, and Special Issues of Project
Management Journal®. Project Management Journal, 46(1), 2-11.
Kerzner, H. R. (2013). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and
controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Laufer, A. (2012). Mastering the leadership role in project management: Practices that deliver
Laufer, A., Hoffman, E. J., Russell, J. S., & Cameron, W. S. (2015). What successful project
managers do. MIT Sloan Management Review, 56(3), 43.
remarkable results. FT Press.
Todhunter, B. (2013). Future practitioners of project management–are we disciples of Stanley
Kubrick or Ridley Scott?. Project Perspectives, 35, 50-55.
